Teamwork Is Very Important: Video Transcript

Jamie L. Cohen(BS Chemistry, Miami, 2002) [R&D Director and Chemist, Dow Chemical Company's Electronic Materials Business Group]: The Department of Chemistry was a great resource. I spent a lot of time there because I was doing my research. Miami really does set you up very well to move into graduate school, and for those undergrads currently thinking about pursuing a career in chemistry, do research. It is better to know now that you love it or don't love doing laboratory research before you try and go off and go to graduate school or go into industry. I think one of the most memorable things that I've done at Miami was to do that undergraduate research. There are going to a lot of people that are going to help you. Teamwork is going to be very important, collaboration. Be open, be extroverted for maybe the first time, and really try and seek out other people to help you, to give you advice, to guide you.

Because I've been collaborating with so many different people, I get to hear a lot of different perspectives. Not just everybody has new ideas, but everybody is shaped by the culture that they live in. So I might have a great idea in my mind, but it might be in general a very good idea, but when applied to a particular culture or applied to a particular market in that culture, it just doesn't make any sense, and so working with different cultures, different people, helps put your idea in perspective, helps shape an idea in a way that's going to be most applicable to what you're trying to, say, sell that product into from a market perspective, or develop a program to teach future leaders. Really working with people, learning about their culture, building that relationship, opening up about what's different, what's good, what's bad, not being afraid to take the constructive criticism — all of those things have really helped me. The global aspect just broadens your view more than you would have ever imagined.

Academic Advising

Academic Advising in the College of Arts and Science, Miami University, Oxford, OH, helps students make decisions about majors, minors, and thematic sequences; monitors student academic progress; and provides assistance with course planning.